Michael Young Requests Trade

TUESDAY, 12:10am: Young feels a breach of trust occurred with the Rangers in part because they told him they were not trying to trade him when they actually were, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. Stark adds that Young would be willing to consider expanding his eight-team list on a "case-to-case basis."

MONDAY, 10:34pm:MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has the list of eight teams Young is willing to accept a trade to: Cardinals, Yankees, Twins, Astros, Rockies, Dodgers, Angels, and Padres. The team has said they are dealing with just those eight teams right now.

"I've kept a low profile out of respect for the team, the coaching staff, my family and the fans because I didn't want to put anybody on an unnecessary roller-coaster. Now, I think it's important to address the inaccurate portrayal that is being painted. The suggestion that I've simply had a change of heart and asked for a trade is a manipulation of the truth."

"I want to be traded because I've been misled and manipulated and I'm sick of it."

Young wouldn't elaborate when asked how he was "misled and manipulated," instead saying it "would be unproductive for everybody, particularly my teammates and coaches. I know the truth and Jon Daniels knows the truth and I will sleep well."

9:16pm:Jeff Wilson of The Star Telegram hears that the Rangers would be willing to trade Young within the AL West as long as it helps improve the team. He reminds us that Texas traded high-end prospects to a division rival for Cliff Lee just last summer.

5:06pm: Michael Young has officially requested a trade according to Rangers GM Jon Daniels, reports Anthony Andro of The Star Telegram (Twitterlinks). The request came about a week ago, though Daniels said "nothing's imminent" according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter).

"It's not our first choice," said Daniels. "We'd like to go to camp with him … If we can accomodate his request and upgrade the club he would like to do that."

Those quotes come courtesy of Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News and Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitterlinks). Team president Nolan Ryan said they're "going to do what’s in the best interest of the ballclub" according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Ryan would not speculate about whether the team would eat some of Young's salary, and he said he expects "proper compensation" for his third baseman according to Andro and Renck (Twitterlinks).

This is not the first time Young has requested a trade from the Rangers. He did so before the 2009 season, after the club asked him to play third base in deference to Elvis Andrus. Obviously nothing came of that, but Young still had a clearly defined role with the team back then. Now he's expected to be a part-time infielder and part-time DH with Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli on board.

Young, 34, has been mentioned in trade talk all winter, most notably with the Rockies. He was said to have "grown disillusioned about his diminished role" over the weekend, and we heard that Colorado would need Texas to eat about $20MM of the $48MM left on Young's salary to make a deal happen.

Young has a limited no-trade clause that allows him to block deals to all but eight teams, however Colorado is one of the eight. Ryan says that Young will not expand the list of teams he's willing to go to even though some of the clubs on the no-trade list have expressed interest in acquiring him according to Renck and Andro (allTwitterlinks). Daniels would not specify which teams have inquired about Young.

If Texas was willing to trade within the division, they might find suitors in the Angels and Athletics, though that is speculation on my part. Both clubs whiffed on Beltre and are known to be seeking upgrades at the hot corner. Colorado would use Young at second base full-time.

that’s what happens when teams get better. he was a stabilizing force for a long time on brutal baseball teams. but its not as if he hasn’t been getting displaced by far superior players, especially at SS and 3rd.

Yea, I read that as well. The Angels would be better with Young manning 3rd, but they would need some salary relief for sure. Of course, I thought the same thing when they traded for Wells, so wtf do I know.

He probably should but, at least people might want A Rod to play baseball (personality and other things aside) he is simply much more valuable on a baseball field now than either of those guys have ever been with the exception of 1 year each (according to fangraphs WAR)

as good of a player young is the last thing the angels need to do is take on another big contract. unless the rangers can eat up a gigantic portion of that contract the angels have no business trading for young. they already took on kazmir’s and well’s contracts and are gonna have an enormous payroll as it is

Why not a Kazmir for Young+$15M exchange? The Rangers need pitching and need to unload Young’s giant contract; the Angels need to a 3B and can unload Kazmir’s final year+buyout. Netting out Young’s deal for a mid $20M makes him affordable despite his advanced age.

Seriously dude? I was talking about how bad Kazmir would be in Arlington saying that in that ballpark he would give up more runs than even that offense could drive in. It was really a compliment to the Rangers.

I know there is a certain contingent of Rangers fans out there who are all proud because their team finally did something meaningful but try thinking a little before you start trashing other franchises and calling people chumps, okay?

No. E5 (I suppose E3 now) is there to support Lind at first. That shouldn’t change.

But if we could get him cheap, without carrying much of his long-term cost, without trading any of our valued prospects (maybe a relief pitcher or two — we’ve got plenty), it would be cool to see Young back in Toronto.

Wood is a good defensive player, but not as good as Aybar at SS. Aybar is a vg defensive SS. Plus, Wood would likely hit just as poorly at SS as 3rd, and he hasn’t hit anywhere near 25 HRs with his .190 avg in the bigs. The Angels keep giving him a shot because he absolutely crushed AAA for many years. So far, making him the definition of a AAAA player.

He’s def an offensive upgrade, not a defensive one though. There is no way any team sends money to Texas in a Young trade. Texas could get a decent prospect if they pick up much of Young’s salary, but there is NO way that anyone sends money to Texas on top of picking up Young’s contract. He is a good player, but def overpaid.

Nothing of value should be going back to Texas UNLESS they eat a tremendous amount of what is left. Right now the price is at $20m or so just to dump him. If the Rangers want a top flight prospect then they would need to kick in another $5m or so to cover the cost of the young talent.

Point is, there’s no need to give up someone like Chatwood for Young. You could literally dig out an old’ Fat Head of Tim Salmon and a “Touched By an Angel” box set and get Young if you don’t mind pulling a “Wells”.

Don’t worry, he is. The entire state of Texas is finally figuring out what baseball is especially this crazy thing called a “farm system”. The feel like they are entitled to all the best players. They made it to a World Series, so aren’t they?!

Yankees are ranked #6 right now, but good try. Pretty impressive given the # of draft picks given up for type A FA’s over the last decade. Hughes/Joba/Gardner/Cano/Jeter/Pettitte/Rivera/Posada/Williams all important guys, any Yankee fan who denies the importance of a farm system is an idiot don’t lump us all together and say we don’t recognize the importance. Lulz @ this 2010 Rangers Fan

Of course their farm system is ranked high, all their guys in AAA are 28 because the Yankees load their big league roster through free agency. Getting drafted by the Yankees would probably be the worst possible thing that could ever happen to a young ballplayer. You’re guaranteed a decade in the minors if you show any promise, because they don’t want to risk trading a future all star, your only hope would be to play possum until they release you or trade you.

Guess you can’t read too well but I guess that makes sense if your a Texas fan. All the guys I mentioned were homegrown, not to mention the Yankees have the number 3 (Montero) prospect who is 21 and the number 13 (Banuelos) who is 20 and Betances who is also a top 50 guy going to be 23 this year. It is easy to make blanket statements like that when you don’t know what you are talking about, like you clearly don’t.

I get your probably kidding on the throw the farm thing but, if they could get rid of Fukudome and make a deal involving Wells, Caridad and Dolis for Young and about 5-6 million in Salary relief for this year.

You’re giving up some pretty good pieces there for Michael Young on a trade where the other team doesn’t have a ton of leverage. Wells isn’t flashy and he had a pretty mediocre year, but Fangraphs still has his value pegged at $13MM. Compared to his salary, that’s big. Caridad… well, after seeing how terrible he did in the majors I don’t personally have a ton of hope for him, but Dolis has the potential to be a pretty good bullpen arm.

I don’t see any reason for the Cubs to be taking on that kind of salary right now, especially in the form of multi-year commitments, much less giving up decent talent to do it. Let DeWitt play and see if he can live up to his potential if he’s actually given a season’s worth of ABs. Let Colvin play the majority out in RF and see what you really have with him. Find out where the team actually stands going into an offseason where they’ll have some roster space and money to spend and you can turn toward fixing your problems. The dream of seriously competing for the Central this year ended when the Brewers decided to scoop up every pitcher they could trade for. We’re just not leapfrogging three teams in one season, so don’t take money on trying to do it.

The only way I even consider trading for him AT ALL (and in all likelihood not with that package and with lots more cash coming Chicago’s way) is if the organization felt he could replace Ramirez at third after 2011, and I would certainly hesitate on that score. I don’t think he does, on either side of the ball. But at the same time, the market is looking like it’s going to be pretty weak and Ramirez is looking like he’s on his way out of town.

If some form of Dolis-plus for Chris Davis is available, I’d much rather see the Cubs try for that. Less money, more upside.

yeah considering the pitching surplus we have that could work out. The problem is the Rangers want more than pitching. I think I heard they want to improve their hitting in some way. Trading Z and Fukudome and another prospect for Young doesnt seem enough.

I’ll add to this. He’d be a huge downgrade defensively over Inge, but he would like be a significant offensive upgrade across all the big “important” stats. He could also play SS. He’d be an improvement over Peralta defensively and offensively.

Deffinitly not defensively. Peralta’s UZR at short over the last 3 seasons is 1.2. Young hasn’t played shortstop since ’08 when his UZR was -4.6 and -10.8 the year before. At his age, there is no chance he suddenly becomes a better fielder than he was in his younger days. I’l pass on paying Young 16 mil for the next 3 seasons.

I must admit have mixed feelings about UZR and these “modern stats”, but I just looked at Young’s TC (toal chances) from 2008-2010 it is flat out scary bad. So now I think there is something to this stat, but still a bit skeptical. In 2008 he had 669 Total Chances in 151 games, in 2010 he had on 379 Total Chances and I think that this UZR stuff is making some sense.

Move to SS: Volunteered, no complaint. But SS is a more prestigious position that he had played in the past… so how is that a sacrifice?
Move to 3B after fielding SS very poorly: Initially refused and requested to be traded. A month later when the Rangers have been unable to move his contract and word leaks to the public, he recants and then from that point forward does move very professionally, but still.. remarkable leadership there? Where?
Move to DH after fielding 3b very poorly: Initially says he will do it and he wants to be a Ranger, but then a month later under the radar asks to be traded because hes worried about his next contract.

So uh.. yeah. I’ll always like MY, despite some criticisms he performed well for the Rangers for a decade and it was phenomenally satisfying to see him make the postseason and appear in a world series. But I don’t see anything about the above moves that is some heroic gesture. If he wants to be traded, so be it but its not the Rangers duty to pander to him by keeping him at a defensive position he can’t field to sooth his ego.

If the Rangers can move him, I wish him luck. I would hate to see him being bashed by some other fans if he performs poorly. Colorado would be a nice landing spot.. out of the AL, in a park that will help his numbers (which of course is only relevant cosmetically, but thats what most fans stop at).. hope that can get done.

“Move to DH after fielding 3b very poorly: Initially says he will do it and he wants to be a Ranger, but then a month later under the radar asks to be traded because hes worried about his next contract.”

You’re performing quite a bit of spin there. I see your comment was posted before his quotes, so go take a look at them and see if you still think this is about Young’s concern for a future contract.

I never saw a word of complaint from Young about the plan to move him to DH/utility infielder. What I saw was a repeated yo-yo between “Michael Young is staying he’s oh-so-important to us!” and “Rangers exploring Young trades.” One team official talking about how you’re staying while the other is trying to send you packing is enough to get anybody steaming. Baseball may be a business, but the players are people with families and with futures and with their own set of concerns. He wants to know where he’s playing this year. And from the sound of those quotes, he feels they’re screwing him around and feeding him platitudes instead of answers.

He’s been treated awful there the past few months. They’ve told him he’s staying, then they’re talking about moving him behind his back. Come on… he’s their most loyal player and has done EVERYTHING they have asked him to do. I’m glad he requested a trade. Texas doesn’t deserve Young anymore.

you have a 16m player, getting older and worth less everyday. you have him penciled in as a super-sub and part time DH. Economically, he’s not quite a fit at that role on a team that doesn’t have unlimited financial resources. If he’s going to be sour about hearing his name floated around, that’s his bag. he can see he doesn’t fit there. now to boot, he doesn’t want to do it. oh well.

I understandhe doesn’t fit there. That’s not the point. The situation with Beltre taking over 3rd and Young being a supersub should have been dicussed and dealt with right when the Beltre deal was done. It’s a very poorly handled situation.

In his defense (no pun) Young didn’t say anything public until after rumors circulated that the Rox were still in talks with Texas about a trade. That was after they acquired Napoli and were still saying Young was “their guy”.

I blame Texas simply because they couldn’t been much more proactive in trading Young or a lot more discreet.

good riddance. 10 years of horrible defense, average hitting, and being overpayed will soon be over for the rangers. I feel sorry for any team thats decides to trade for him. Every one makes him out to be a great team make but look what is happening now. I hope whatever team gets him dont have high hopes because theyll be crushed within 10 games.

This guy has been the perfect example of a team player all throughout his career, and in my opinion the heart and soul of the Rangers franchise for the last several years now. It’s a shame he gets treated like this. Hopefully they can match up on a deal with one of the 8 that Mike is willing to go to and he can find a more stable and solidified role with another club that really wants him for what he is worth (not necessarily financially, more in regards to his attitude and what he brings to the table).

I can think of 16 million reasons that Michael Young needs to get over himself and play baseball, if he is riding the pine, and getting 16 million, he should not complain.

If he wants off the Rangers, I think a trade to Angels would be good for him since his buddy is there, VW, and something like Young for Kazmir and another solid prospect seems like a reasonable trade. Kazmir is nothing more than a salary dump, and you might be able to turn him around, and a good solid young player for Young.

That’s an interesting angle. Kazmir clearly is a salary dump … but so is Young. If the Rangers were looking to eat $20m to swing a deal with Colorado Kazmir will cost $14.5m (including his buyout). So maybe, Kazmir + Izturis for Young + $8m. Texas has a chance to add a good arm if Kazmir can right the ship. Izturis plays the super sub role covering all of the infield positions. The Angels don’t add much salary and hopefully have a solution at 3rd base. They would need a 5th starter to go behind Weaver, Haren, Santana, and Pineiro but that shouldn’t be a huge problem.

As an Angel fan, I’d do that trade in a heartbeat. Maybe Kaz can turn his numbers around in Texas, but I highly doubt it. But if Texas is that desperate for pitching, then why not? The only cog I imagine in this trade would be that “solid prospect.” The Angels don’ have a good farm outside of Trout, Bourj, Conger, and maybe Trout. And I would HATE to lost those guys for another aging vet.

As for the Young complaining for sitting on bench, in my opinion that speaks volumes of the character of Young as a player. The dude just wants to play baseball, he wants to earn his 16 mill. That shows waaay more class than a player sitting on the IR, content with just getting money. And add to that the fact that Young TRIED to keep quiet after getting moved from SS to 3B to DH, and after all that, the Rangers went out and got another DH in Napoli. Young isn’t the bad guy here, thats just me though.

Are those Rangers fans saying MY is a “jerk” for demanding a trade purposely ignoring the fact that not only Nolan Ryan but also Ron Washington said MY “will be with Texas on Opening Day” and then continue to talk to the Rockies about a MY trade? And on top of that now GM Daniels is saying “It’s not our first choice,” “We’d like to go to camp with him …?” Would you like your boss to tell you you aren’t getting fired but then 5 days later you are fired? MY hasn’t been traded yet but you can bet that the Rangers would trade MY in a heart beat after saying those comments based on how they have handled this situation.

And why is MY being bashed because of his salary and performance? He isn’t writings his own check, blame the GM for giving the contract MY has, especially for knowing first hand what MY is capable of. Any every team has a player being overpaid based on his performance and every team wants to get rid of such players if they can but don’t go bashing on the player for a mistake the GM made.

And for those who think MY is demanding a trade because he’s looking out for his next contract, do you really think that? He’ll be 37 by the time he hits FA. If Vlad is having such a tough time getting $8mil, do you think MY is aiming for a $12mil or even a $10mil contract? Even Thome only got $3mil and he outperfomed MY.

i understand about the being told he’d be with the team. they shouldn’t have said that, in fact i can’t think of a good reason to ever say that to anyone.

the fact remains, the rangers should have been shopping Young the day after the WS, more so after beltre, and more so after Napoli.

if this request stems from being told he’d be with the team, thats fine, like i said, should never have happened.

if it has to do with hearing his name floated in trade rumors, or he’s unhappy with his potential role with the club, those are pretty poor reasons. the rumors are going to come due to his contract and lack of set position, and his play has dictacted the lessened role.

Young has every right to be upset the Rangers slowly drove him there. They told him he would be starting and then next minute they are considering deals. He has played in Texas a long time and been a rock, they have moved him twice and broke prior agreements to stop taking trade offers for him. He should feel unwanted.

Not a thought but a question. The stuff you’re smoking….illegal or do you live in one of those medical marijuana states? Oakland isn’t going to eat that much salary and help out a AL West rival. They would spend the big cash for Beltre but not for Young.

Strange that you would look at this from the perspective that OAKLAND is the one helping out their rivals. They’d be helping themselves more than the Rangers. And eating that much salary is what they’d have to do if they want to get better at Third Base. No one else is willing to go there, plus they have plenty of salary space (especially once they get Kouz’s $4.75 million off of their books).

But to answer your question, I smoke weed in a State that allows Medical Mariuana. And no, I don’t have a prescription.

i find angels fans who actually want michael young funny. i mean, it’s almost like they don’t think vernon wells was a bad trade. maybe they can trade for zambrano, zito and arod while they’re at it! and maybe the yankees will even chip in aj burnett as a sign of good faith!

Michael Young would make the Angels better, but they obv would need a fair amount of salary relief. Nobody wants to take on that contract. We all know that the Wells trade was terrible (except maybe “fans” who don’t understand baseball).

How bout a trade with Philly? Send Ibanez and Blanton, Ibanez can DH and would put up decent numbers in that park, Blanton gives them another pitcher they were desperately looking for this winter. Young can play left for the Phils (has he ever done this?) and it gives them another righty bat. Money will probably need to be involved one way or another. But it helps the Phils get younger by getting rid of an aging Ibanez, and slates Kendrick into the 5th spot and allows a young guy like Defratus to come up for the bullpen. Probably a bad trade but it sounds decent thinking about it haha

In my plan I said Young could play left, although I dont know how feasible this is. Polanco is kinda hamstringing my whole plan if Young can’t play left. And they aren’t having a hard time finding a solid outfielder, Brown will be fine (assuming thats who you are refering to)

I’m not bashing brown, but they have yet to demonstrate full confidence in his ability to start everyday in 2011, at least to start the season. Hence the reason they were looking at Diaz and Francoeur. And if you’re actually considering Michael Young for the outfield I don’t know what to think…he just isn’t very good on defense I wouldn’t expect him to be even average in the field.

Haha I understand, I didn’t mean to come off like I was bashing, I was kind of thinking it through out loud. Not gonna lie though…I love the fact you guys have Ibanez, my favorite Phillie beside Cole Hamels circa 2009 even though since Young sucks and would make your outfield Young/Victorino/Brown…I think I’d be happy with that lol

Michael Young to the Braves for Derek Lowe. Young agrees to play 1b in the short term and 3b in the longterm, with Chipper likely to retire soon and Freeman close to being ready. That is a damn good lineup.

damnnn i forgot that the braves got uggla…hahaha im scared now of the braves line up…can they just maybe give us uggla for free and make our line up better….
reyes
pagan
wright
uggla
beltran
bay
davis
thole

What’s so bad about this trade? Rangers get a year more of financial flexibility and a veteran starter to add to the staff. Braves relieve the pressure off Freeman and have flexibility when/if Chipper gets hurt.

The Rangers didn’t really *need* Beltre. Just like the Phillies didn’t really *need* Cliff Lee to round out a rotation. I understand why they got him but it’s not like they were desperate to fill 3B for this season. I hope Beltre tanks offensively now that he’s only on the 1st year of an overblown contract and Young has a breakout year wherever he ends up going.

Why would he get put on waivers? Lmfao. There is going to be legitimate trade interest in him before the waiver period even shows up. His 10-5 rights kick in soon so he’s going to get traded sooner than later.

No team has come close to offering Texas a deal in which they assume all of Young’s contract. If you have evidence to the contrary please share it with us. At this point we know that Colorado was only going to discuss a trade IF the Rangers paid $20m just to get rid of him.

Placing him on Waivers allows the Rangers to avoid having to pay ANYTHING if Young is claimed. That is a far better deal than having to kick in $20m. The only reason to even discuss a deal where $20m may be going to Colorado is if you are convinced that Young would go unclaimed.

Young has negative equity. It’s that simple. Why you would assume that there would be legitimate trade interest in a guy making $16m/year over the next 3 years is beyond me. He’s subpar offensively, brutal defensively, and getting up there in years.

He just requested a trade. I’m sure MORE teams will be interested now. Texas will undoubtedly eat more salary if it means a better return. It’s kind of a no brainer. They don’t want him as an every day player, so they can pay most of his salary and get a better return, simple as that. And I NEVER said he’d go unclaimed, that was the person I replied to. I believe if Young was put on waivers, he would be claimed. Problem is, he won’t get put on waivers. He’s going to be moved before that. One last thing… suppar offensive player? Texas or not… I don’t think it’s fair to say Young is a subpar player with his slashline.

Rangers don’t want him (and that’s possibly their mistake). But it is definitely their mistake to have let all other teams know how anxious they are to get rid of him. Wrecked getting any decent return for him. Rangers likely to have to eat very substantial portions of his salary and receive disappointing players in a swap.

A dark-horse could be the Royals. With a bunch of young prospects coming up the chain, but not alot of Middle Infield depth, Michael Young might not be a bad player to have coax some of these young prospects coming up the chain. They don’t really have a veteran leader on their team and Young could be that guy at 2b. Hosmer and Escobar will cover enough ground to make Young’s average defense at 2nd be justifiable. They have 12MM extra from Gil Meche retiring. It really depends on how much the Rangers want for him, but might guess is because of his salary, his asking price isn’t huge

I don’t get why people are trying so hard to find the ‘bad guy’ here. Just look at it like a real relationship, and the Young-Rangers relationship has taken its course. There were many good times, but they’re just not fit for each other anymore.

You can’t blame the Rangers because #1) I highly doubt the Rangers were trying to piss Young off by making all those moves. Almost everybody has been upgrade ( Andrus>Young, Beltre>Young), except for maybe Napoli, so you can’t hate on them for wanting to upgrade their team.

As for Young, you can’t blame a guy for wanting to actually play and help his team. He knows he can do much better than be a part-time DH,especially at this point of his career. To me people should respect Young for wanting to play a bigger part, he could easily sit on the IR and rake in the 16 mill, but he actually wants to play. The ‘selfish’ tag doesn’t work on Young, not after he was so willing to shift positions without complaining because he knew it would help the team. But now, there’s nowhere for him to shift to, so its only fair for him to want more and help another team.

There’s no bad guy here, so let’s focus on the more important topic here, the actual trade. How about a Young + money for Kazmir + a throw-in? Reagins better accept that in a heartbeat.

Seattle gets 3MM from Cubs, Aramis Ramirez to provide much needed power and play 3b and Kosuke Fukudome to learn how to hit and play LF from Ichiro. Both one year gambles, but both could payoff nicely. Allows for Seattle to re-plan longterm.

Texas gets Chris Carpenter/Jeff Samardiza, Randy Wells, Milton Bradley and long-term salary relief (who they most likely will be able to release due to his pending charges. However he did flourish under Ron Washington, is in a contract year, and Arlington is a great hitter’s park)

Cubs get Chone Figgins and Michael Young, two players signed for the next 3 years at a little less than the same yearly salaries combined of Aramis and Fukudome. They also open up a position for Colvin.

Apparently, he is in legal problems. Even if they did have to pay Milton, the Rangers would be paying Milton less than what they are paying Michael Young for this season, and wouldn’t have to pay him at all the two years following.

It’s very interesting. It adds things that all the teams involved need. The only thing that I’m not sure about is both Young and Figgins going to Chicago. Sure, they’re shedding some salary but they’d also be taking on quite a bit. Overall, I gotta say, that would be an interesting trade.

Good for Young. He has every right to be upset. I hope he lands on a good team and gets to put up another outstanding season for a contender. For What it’s worth I wish the Red Sox had room for his bat and character.

Finally someone who realizes what Young brings to the table. Great in the clubhouse, great on the field, great in the community. He’s a great ballplayer. As a Ranger, I’m going to miss him terribly if he actually does get traded. Josh Hamilton, reigning AL MVP, worked out with him Monday and said that if he actually were to get traded it would be a huge blow for the Rangers. Mike is a classy guy and has the players support, I just hope it works out. If he is to get traded I do hope it is to a contender, he worked his a** off through the Tom Hicks years playing for a loser and doesn’t deserve to end up in that situation again.

Another quote ““I got pushed into a corner one too many times. I couldn’t take it any more.”

The ultimate professional right here guys. Personally calling out his GM too. In the end, MY is another entitled, overpaid athlete. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m still a fan with lots of fond memories, but hes not someone that needs a pity party.

This guy’s a tool. He’s the one asking for the trade but is only willing to consider certain teams? He needs to get real here – he is WAY overpaid and defensively, he’s a statue at third base. He’ll be lucky to find a team to take him.

Cardinals-Can’t see them taking on money with the Pujols thing up in the air.
Yankees- Don’t need him.
Twins-Probably can’t afford him and no outrageous contracts to send back.
Astros-Shouldn’t even think about it, but then again they are the Astros.
Rockies- Looks like the most likely.
Dodgers-Don’t see a match.
Angels- Could be a match (Young and cash for Kazmir ?)
Padres- No way in hell.

Even though Baltimore is not one of the teams mentioned, Baltimore would be smart in offering Luke Scott in return for Young. Scott would fill the DH spot that Young is unwilling to play and Young would be an upgrade not only offensively over Scott but also defensively in LF.

I used to love Young, but can anyone take a step back, and make this a high school baseball team? because its still the same game…
One kid isnt as good so he gets moved. he doesnt get to go to the coach and complain about how he got moved.. he works harder to get playing time. this is still baseball, its the same game we played as kids, we never got to complain to the coach cuz were upset… and hes doing it while making 16,000,000 a year?

Logic for Indians: They are counting on a lot of inexperienced players @ 1B w/ LaPorta, 2B with Donald and Nix @ 3B. Young can be a full-time DH and act as a safety net at 1B, 2B and 3B if the kids struggle and can also allow the Indians to take it slow with Chisenhall and Kipnis until they are ready to take over. Hafner is owed $28.7 mil guaranteed so it really depends on how much the Rangers are willing to kick in.

The only way I do this, if I’m the Indians, is if I come out even or ahead in terms of money so the Rangers would have to chip in about $6.7M a year for 3 years. Ultimately this is a team that needs to think about the future, not the present and Young is a player for the present. You make a good case for Young to the Indians but the same case could be made for any utility player. Add to it Young has been a product of his environment, hitting in Texas has raised his stock. Moving to Cleveland, well not a good idea for the Indians.

Honestly I think the Rangers and the Rockies make sense for all parties concerned. Though that rarely means anything.

I don’t think the Rangers would throw in Davis and Cash in that type of deal I think it would have to be one or the other and I couldn’t see them trading Davis at this point but I have seen crazier things this off season.

Just thought I would throw it out there cause I am sick of reading people put this out there: Michael Young cannot play 2nd or SS anymore, he can barely play 3rd. I would greatly appreciate people to stop speculating he could somehow suddenly greatly improve defensively. Oh and Brian Cashman, he cannot pitch.

Or San Diego (in reference to a pitcher blocking a trade to the 2 biggest pitchers parks…not counting San Fran….Oakland…blah blah blah). Personally I think he just needs to get off his high horse and suck it the f up.

How is he average to below average outside of Texas? Because he hits so many bombs in our hitter friendly stadium? He hits for average and some power, not the other way around. 10 year career, averaging 190 hits a year over that span. Now go do your research and see how many other players have averaged that many hits a year over the last 10 years.

Get on the phone. We know we’re broke, but that hasn’t stopped you before. Third base is our biggest hole. I’m high on Morel too but we can always ship Teahan’s crazy contract away. Get the job done.
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It’s nice to see the Twins on someone’s approved trade list for once. It’s always the “no trade” list. He fits the Twins need of a RH bat who can hit lefties. That being said, there’s no room for him in dollars or a place for him on the roster.

What a baby! For supposedly being a team leader, he’s had his share of negative publicity. He refused to move from shortstop to third base, until he was finally told that he was going to move there, and then he gave his blessing to the move. And putting Andrus at short was an outstanding move.

A team leader does whatever they can for the best interests of the team, not just themselves. There are trade rumors all the time, that’s just a part of the business, and MY is not above that. Also, if he’d just shut up and play, and be the team leader that is part of his image, when his contract is up, he’s going to be 37, so at that point, he’s probably going to be viewed as a utility infielder and/or DH. So I don’t understand his point.

While I think the Rangers shouldn’t have publicly said they weren’t trading him, the reality is that if there are teams interested, the Rangers are going to listen. He’s not worth $16 million per year, and if they can save some money on the deal and put it towards keeping Hamilton and Cruz, of course they have to look at it.

Players better than Young get traded and it’s part of the game, but apparently Young takes offense to the rumors…so now he wants to be traded?

The point isn’t him being traded to upgrade the club, Texas would be doing a very poor job if they wern’t at least exploring the possibility of unloading that contract. They did not do a good job handling the situation. You can’t say one thing then do another. They told Young they aren’t shopping him, and he was staying put. But in reality, they were trying to trade him.

That is where Young is coming from. That is why he feels misled and decieved. The Rangers front office should have never told him he wasn’t being traded.

So because he feels misled that they are trying to trade him, he demands a trade? And will this “team leader” be a clubhouse cancer if he isn’t traded? I can understand his frustration, but supposedly he’s a professional and it happens. So he needs to act like a professional. If he’s with the team, he’s still going to get plenty of at bats.

So what he’s essentially doing is making it harder for the Rangers to trade him because they’re not necessarily going to get strong offers with teams knowing he wants out. Great leadership, Michael!

Takes offense to the lies, not the rumors. Takes offense to the lies. He was being told that he wasn’t involved in any trade talks, while he was involved. Nobody likes being lied to, especially when they are sacrificing for the better of the people that are lying to them.

Sure, nobody likes being lied to. How is he sacrificing for the better? He could have said no, you’re not moving me off third base, and it’s not his call. He’s a player, not the manager or GM. He can’t even force them to trade him. He has three years on his contract. He’s getting paid $16 million per year, and he would still be in the starting lineup on most occasions. If they said, hey, we want to sign Hamilton long term, would you mind giving up $4 million of your salary so we can afford it? That would be a sacrifice.

He moved from 2nd to short, and then from short to 3rd, and then OK’d moving to DH in order to better the team. Of course he was upset about moving from short, he went to 5 straight all star games and won a gold glove there, and they were moving him for a 19 year old unproven kid. Elvis has obviously turned out to be a good move, but at the time you don’t think you would have been upset? I don’t know what you do for a living, but imagine being in the top 5-10 in the world at what you do and then having your boss tell you that they’re giving your job to an unproven kid fresh out of school and moving you to a different position within the company. You would just take it laying down? Is that what you’re saying here?

Professional sports and real world jobs really aren’t similar. In Young’s case, yes, he was moving positions, but he was still going to be starting, and things turned out great. There was no way to know how Andrus was going to be, but it’s not like someone being replaced by a new hire to a company, Andrus had played in the minor leagues, so they knew what he was capable of doing. And quite honestly, if I was told I was changing responsibilities, the fact that I would be making $16 million per year and would still have one of the top 8 most important everyday positions in the company would certainly help my team spirit and attitude! In fact, if Young had a real job, he would probably be fired after publicly saying he didn’t want to work for them anymore.

Just a comparison, since I’m a Dodger fan. There have been rumors in the media all winter about moving Casey Blake to left field, to first, to the bench. James Loney has been the subject of trade rumors, people saying they need to get rid of him. I haven’t heard one public word from either of those players, no complaints, no demands for trades. Maybe they’re just a lot more professional than Young.

The guy should stop crying. He is getting paid huge money for the next 3 years and he is still worried about his next contract? Nobody wants your old, overpaid self. If the Rangers could cut him and not pay him they would in a second.

I think there’s a difference between shopping a player and listening to offers. Management’s job is to try to get the best team together that they can, and if Colorado came to the Rangers and offered a particular package for Young, and Jon Daniels was discussing this package, is this trying to trade Young or doing his job?